The Red Mansion

Chapter 21 The Great Archer

The large ship that Jiang Nian was on sailed into a narrow section of the Grand Canal in Zaozhuang.

Meng Xiong stood on the deck on guard, holding a telescope in his hand.

Jiang Nian had originally purchased this telescope to explore the technological advancements of the era, and it would be perfect for reconnaissance during his visit to Beijing. It wasn't expensive, costing ten taels of silver, but that was because Jiang Nian had bought a good one; cheaper telescopes only cost one or several taels.

When telescopes were first introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty, they were expensive, as China had not yet mastered the technology to manufacture optical glass. However, during the Daqing and Jingning reigns, China began manufacturing glass lenses, and the price of telescopes dropped significantly. Today, China's telescope manufacturing technology is relatively mature, and telescopes are no longer a rare item.

Suddenly, Meng Xiong discovered something unusual on the river ahead. Two small boats, one to the west and one to the east, trapped a large ship.

Meng Xiong hurriedly used a telescope to conduct a careful reconnaissance and could not help but frowning. The scene in the telescope made his heart tighten. He found that it was a group of pirates who were looting.

Meng Xiong quickly reported the situation to Jiang Nian and He Yun.

So, the six men on the boat, Jiang Nian, He Yun, Meng Xiong, He Zhong, Dong Liang and Dong Feng, all gathered on the deck.

He Yun was wearing the official uniform of a fifth-rank Dragon Guard, looking very majestic.

This is for the sake of convenience. Revealing one's identity as a fifth-rank Dragon Guard can reduce some unnecessary troubles along the way, and it can also serve as a deterrent if one encounters pirates.

After Jiang Nian and He Yun used telescopes to scout the area, Jiang Nian said to He Yun, "These pirates are abominable. Use your bow and shoot the archers on the east pirate ship first, then the pirates on the west pirate ship."

Jiang Nian has discovered through the telescope that the large ship ahead is in a critical situation and the pirates on the pirate ship on the west side are trying to climb onto the ship.

However, there was a bandit archer on the pirate ship on the east side.

For the sake of his own safety and the safety of Jiang's servants, Jiang Nian made a decisive decision to shoot the bandit archer first, and then shoot the pirates on the pirate ship on the west side.

At this time, the Jiang family's ship was hundreds of meters away from the Xue family's ship. If Jiang Nian shot an arrow, it would be difficult for him to hit the target with a hard bow at this range.

Although Jiang Nian was physically strong, he was only fifteen years old after all. He had limited physical strength, limited archery skills, and lacked practical combat experience.

The range of both the foot and horse archery in the Daqing military examination was only a few dozen meters.

However, the effective range of the Daqing hard bow can reach more than 100 meters.

He Yun is much stronger than Jiang Nian, his archery skills are better than Jiang Nian, and he has rich experience. Even if the range is hundreds of meters, he has a good chance of hitting the target.

Now with the help of a telescope, and there is not much wind, the air flow is relatively calm, which can increase He Yun's chance of hitting the target.

Immediately, He Yun used a bow with great pulling force, the bowstring was as tight as a full moon, the arrow was nocked, and his eyes were like lightning, locking onto the archer on the pirate ship on the east side in front - it was the bandit leader Li Liu.

He Yun took a deep breath and loosened his fingers. Under the cloudy sky, the arrow shot out from the air like a meteor, with a sharp whistling sound.

The arrow came so fast and violently, as powerful as wind and thunder, as if even the air was torn apart.

However, the distance of hundreds of meters was really far, and the arrow missed the target by a little bit.

Coincidentally, although the arrow failed to hit Li Liu, it happened to hit a bandit next to Li Liu. Before the bandit could react, the arrow pierced his chest. His body shook violently and he fell to the ground and died.

Li Liu, the ruthless bandit leader, was startled by the sudden arrow. His pupils suddenly constricted, and a chill ran down his spine. He had witnessed the death of the bandit next to him, and he subconsciously assumed the archer's arrow was aimed directly at the dead bandit. A single shot from a range of over a hundred meters showed the archer's strength and skill were truly formidable.

Li Liu is quite strong and has good archery skills, but if he is asked to shoot arrows from a distance of 100 meters, the chance of hitting the target is very low.

In panic, Li Liu quickly pulled another pirate in front of him as a human shield, while observing the situation on the large ship behind him.

At this time, Jiang Nian, who was on the Jiang family's ship, discovered through a telescope that He Yun's arrow missed the target by a little bit and failed to kill the bandit archer. He also discovered that the bandit archer had used a water bandit as a human shield. Jiang Nian realized that this bandit archer probably had a high status in the bandit group and might be the bandit leader.

Jiang Nian decisively said to He Yun: "Shoot another arrow towards the archer's position!"

He Yun understood and without hesitation, he pulled the bow again. The bowstring was taut and the arrow was shining with a cold light.

He Yun held his breath and concentrated, his eyes like torches. He loosened his fingers and the arrow flew through the air with a whoosh.

Perhaps He Yun learned from the deviation of the first arrow, or perhaps the distance between the Jiang family ship and the pirate ship was closer, He Yun's second arrow was extremely accurate and aimed directly at Li Liu's location.

"puff--"

With a dull sound of an arrow entering flesh, the pirate who was being used as a human shield by Li Liula was hit by the arrow and died.

Li Liu secretly said "That was a close call" in his heart, and cold sweat was already oozing out of his forehead.

If he had not used a meat shield and found a scapegoat in time, the second arrow would have taken his life.

"An amazing archer! He's wearing a military officer's uniform!"

Li Liu was frightened by He Yun's two arrows, and he saw clearly that the archer who was shooting arrows on the big ship behind was wearing the official uniform of the Daqing military officer.

"There are soldiers and officers, retreat!"

Li Liu didn't dare to delay. He shouted and quickly got into the cabin.

In his opinion, his own life is the most important, followed by the lives of his bandits. As long as he can save his own life and the lives of most of his men, even if the robbery fails today, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Following Li Liu's order, the pirate ship on the east side retreated directly in the direction they came from.

The pirates on the west side of the pirate ship were about to climb onto the Xue family's ship, but suddenly they heard Li Liu's order to retreat. They also saw the pirate ship on the east side fleeing quickly. Although they were unwilling, they retreated in a hurry.

The Jiang family's big ship was still moving forward quickly through the waves, heading towards the Xue family's big ship.

Holding a telescope, Jiang Nian saw the two pirate ships retreating in haste.

Seeing the pirates fleeing quickly, Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows were still furrowed. He hadn't completely let down his guard, and he was curious: "Who is on the big ship ahead that encountered the pirates?"

He Yun was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently. Shooting arrows from a distance with a hard bow twice in a row had consumed a lot of his physical and mental strength, but he still held the hard bow tightly in his hand, looking ahead vigilantly, wondering whether he should shoot the hard bow for the third time today and shoot the third arrow.

Urgent request for monthly ticket!



(End of this chapter)